Background: This is a saying that was popular in a Californian middle school in the early 2010s referencing American Pop Culture.

Informant: I remember this being a popular phrase said around my Californian middle school. It’s almost a way of saying that someone has the skills, abilities, and the intellect that others lack. May be a reference to a DJ Khaled song, but I’m not entirely sure. Overall, it’s a really jokey thing to say. For example, if the whole class was having difficulty on a math problem, but one student knew the answer, another student may remark, “he’s got the keys.”

Analysis: I believe that this saying is limited to the informant’s middle school because I have asked around other Californian students and no one has heard of the saying. The song mentioned by the informant is “I Got the Keys” by DJ Khalid featuring Jay-Z and Future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFLSOIufuhM.